Eating

You might ask why the "Eating" section comes before the other sections in these pages.
Logic may suggest that a fish must be caught before one can devour the same.
However, I believe that most fishermen hit the water with the intention of
taking home a catch sufficient for a feed or two. It is this intention
which comes before everything else and so we should explore the food aspect before we
get onto the catching and
identifying sections.

Although Redfin is considered a
pest species, the fish is also recognised for it's fighting
ability and good eating qualities. Many fishermen will acknowledge that Redfin is one
of the best (if not the best) freshwater table fish. The meat has a soft, sweet flavour
and is easily cut into fillets without a single fishbones.

Filleting

The secret to successful filleting starts when the fish is caught:
- Don't take too small a fish, I suggest 25cm as the minimum size.
- Put the fish on ice straight away - a small esky with ice blocks is ideal.
- Don't take too many fish home - you will have to fillet them!

Filleting steps:

Cut Belly from anus towards front of the fish until you hit bone somewhere
under the gills.

Insert knife at the top of head, just behind bone, and cut down towards the
belly behind the gills and pectoral fin until cut meets up with the belly cut.

Now cut along the top of the fish from the head running the knife to one side of
the dorsal fin. This cut should be rather shallow until the area of the anal fin
where the knife is pushed all the way through until it emerges on the bottom side
of the fish. This cut is finished by pulling the knife all the way through to
the tail fin.

Work the cut along the dorsal fin deeper into the fish until the knife makes
contact with the rib bones, the cut around the ribs being careful not to
waste too much of the belly flap.

You will now have one fillet separated from the carcass.
Repeat the above three steps on the other side.

Lay the fillet skin down on a board, use your thumb nail to clamp it down and
separate the skin from the fillet by running a flexible skinning knife from
the tail end towards the front of the fillet.

When done, repeat the same for the other fillet, then run your fingers over the
fillet to check for bones which can be cut out with sharp knife.

You should now have two nice fillets without bones.Also note that there is
no need to gut the fish if you employ the above filleting procedure.

Cooking

The general rule applicable for cooking redfin is to not cook them too long or
the meat will become dry and tough.
Also remember to keep you fish and fillets chilled, preferable on ice, at all times.
This will ensure the best quality fish come cooking time.

Although there are many cooking variations, some without removing the fillets from
the carcass, you should never attempt to cook Redfin with skin as they are bottom
dwellers and the skin will make for a very strong muddy taste.

Any fish cooking recipe can be used on Redfin fillets but always remember,
especially on smallish fish, to keep the cooking time as short as possible.
Deep frying tends to produce a dry fillet due to the long cooking time.

To experience the real taste of Redfin season the fillet with a small amount of
salt and pepper and pan fry in a little bit of olive oil.
Another way to prepare Redfin is a simple egg batter consisting of one egg with
a bit of soy sauce, pull the fillets through the batter and straight into a
pan greased with olive oil.